Power backside tweak
(left) in the High Cascade
snowpipe. Comin' out of
the sun with a switch
frontside (right) in
Mammoth, CA.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up in Moorpark, California. I was born
in Los Angeles and lived there till I was three,
and my father, he passed away when I was
three-years-old, he was murdered, and then
from there I just moved up to Moorpark, just
got out of the city, moved to the suburbs just
to grow up in a mellow area.
What did you do as a kid?
Since I was probably five, I was in organized
sports such as baseball and soccer, but I didn't
really dig the group sports and just wanted to
do my own thing and came across surfing and
skateboarding when I was eleven, and that
pretty much took over my athletic activities.
What got you hooked on snowboarding?
I was fifteen, and my friend Tim Ramirez had
been snowboarding for about four years, and I
skated for Toxic Skateboards, and we traded
some skate products for a snowboard, and he
took me up, and on my second run, I broke my
arm, but I loved it so much that I went back up
the next day and had a great day and fell in
love with it from there on.
You're twenty-one now?
Yeah.
How are skating and snowboarding similar?
Well, I definitely do them for the same rea-
sans, just for the fun and expression of it, push
yourself, try to do the best you can with it.
Skateboarding is more convenient because you
can do it anywhere, weather permitting. But
snowboarding is something that you have to
spend lots of money and drive to do if you
don't live in the mountains.
Is either one harder
than the other?
I'd say that snow-
boarding is probably
easier to get the fun-
damentals down,
because
skateboarding gets so technical, there's so
many possibilities, you can do all kinds of flip-
ping tricks. With snowboarding, you're always
attached, so that limits you. But with snow-
boarding, you can definitely go a lot bigger,
snow will permit that.
Do you have any superstitions or fears?
Not really. I guess karma, I just believe that
being good creates more good, I try not to do
anything bad because it just comes around.
What are your views on snowboarding now
that it's become mainstream?
I try not to let that affect me because I really
love the sport, I really love going to the moun-
tains and riding. What other people think of it
doesn't really affect me. I think it's kind of crazy,
but I think all sports go through it. I know skate-
boarding went through it, they had Skate TV on
Nickelodeon. Now they have snowboard TV
shows, it's on MTV, and it's kind of weird,
because I don't know if it's just going to get
ridiculous, or if it's going to stay kind of mellow.
But I know that I'll always be able to go out to
the back country and have good sessions with-
out worrying about anything like that, so it
doesn't truly affect anybody if they don't let it.
Does the media circus ever bum you out?
Yeah, sometimes it gets ridiculous. Some
times there's tension between people because
they want to session something and not have
other people ride the same thing. It's kind of
funny. It's like these film companies just want to
have stuff that's unique and original, but every-
body's done everything. I think people take the
business sense of it too much to the heart, get
worked up over something that's really nothing
to be worked up about.
What's expected from you as a Burton pro?
I suppose just to ride, compete, do my best.
I've been out most of the year on injuries, and
they've been really cool
about it. Jake's the best
person I've ever met.
He's pretty much
pioneered
it for us. I think Burton is a successful company
because they make good products and cater to
a snowboarder's needs.
What length board and stance do you use?
I ride a 155, and I ride a twenty-one inch
stance, set back an inch with zero degrees on
the back foot, and fifteen degrees on the front.
Which has been your favorite trip and why?
My first trip to Argentina was overwhelming
because it was my first trip out of the country,
and I was riding three feet of powder on the
first of September which was completely incon-
ceivable to me. Never in my life had I thought
of snowboarding in September, and there I was,
riding powder in this incredible country.
Do you ever work with snowmobiles?
Yeah, snowmobiles are a key to get into the
back country. That's a whole new freedom, you
don't have to deal with scenes or lift lines or
anything. You're doing it purely just to do it.
Which gives you the biggest rush in snow?
Like hitting a big kicker, flying airs over thirty
feet, going big, going fast, airs at high speeds,
and doing technical lines in steeps gives you
a really big rush because it's kind of a life or
death situation. If you fall over rocks, it's not
going to be too pretty.
What other interests do you have?
I enjoy reading books and playing music and
listening to music, and art.
Do you still surf?
Yeah, I surf all the time. I truly enjoy surfing.
I spent a month in Hawaii this winter during my
off time and surfed my brains out.
Is there anyone you'd like to thank?
Yeah, I'd like to thank Mack Dog, Jeff
Brushie, Tim Pogue, Eric Kotch, my mom,
all my friends I grew up with and
Richard Wilcar at Volcom for all
of the support over
the years.